ABOUT 20 youth ambassadors from the Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan have arrived on Monday afternoon at the Henderson International Airport in Honiara.
They were being led by the Director General on Home Assignment of Asia and Pacific Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr Sung Wen-Cheng.
Their visit to the country is to engage in youth exchange programs and they will stage a number of performances.
This includes the launch of “ROC (Taiwan) Cultural Day Festival” this morning at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s (SDA’s) Maranatha Hall, an outdoor performance at the Kakabona Village, West Guadalcanal tomorrow; the exchange with students of Solomon Islands National University (SINU) on Thursday, September 10thfrom 9:00am to 12:00pm; and the promotion of the woodball game on the same day at 3:00~5:00 pm at Panatina Field, SINU.
The cultural day festival is co-sponsored by the ROC (Taiwan) Embassy, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Seven-Day Adventist Church.
It will showcase a 90-minutes stage performances by the youth group, introducing all aspects of modern ROC (Taiwan) — its people, language, writing, music, food and folk arts.
During their stay here, the ROC (Taiwan) youth group will also call at the Prime Minister’s Office, and pay visits to SI National Parliament, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, World Vision, as well as the Honiara-based Taiwan Health Center and Taiwan Technical Mission.
A statement from the Taiwan Embassy here said that, one of the purposes of the visit is for the youth group to get to know the country and its culture better through their contacts with local political, cultural, academic, and development institutions.
The goal is to not only highlight the vitality and goodwill of Taiwanese youths, but also focus their attention to the issues of global concern such as humanitarian aid and sustainable development.
ROC Ambassador H.E. Victor Te-sun Yu pointed out that this youth-oriented exchange program, originally initiated by H.E. President Ma Ying-Jeou of the ROC (Taiwan) in 2009, has flourished into its 7th year.
The goal of this program is to promote cultural understanding, academic development, as well as forging long lasting friendships with people from different cultures.
By RONALD TOITO’ONA
